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Housing and Homelessness

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Apply for housing

You can apply for rental housing in Durham Region through private landlords, social housing and affordable housing providers. You can also apply for housing assistance to make your rent more affordable.

Social and affordable housing providers may offer seniors' housing or accessible (modified) units. Some community agencies also offer supportive or alternative housing.

There can be long waits for social housing and for housing assistance. You will likely need to find your own rental housing in the private market while you are on the affordable housing waiting list.

Social housing and rent-geared-to-income (RGI)

The Region of Durham funds and monitors most social housing providers in the region. We also operate the Durham Regional Local Housing Corporation (DRLHC). It is the largest social housing provider in the region.

All social housing providers offer RGI. Some private landlords also provide RGI under agreement with the Region of Durham. Keep in mind that there is a long wait list for RGI units.

Apply for an RGI unit

Affordable housing

Affordable housing is housing that was developed with government funding. Rents in affordable housing are about 80 per cent of the average market rent for similar units in the area. Affordable housing providers keep their own wait lists.

Apply for an affordable housing unit

Seniors' housing

Seniors' housing

Some social and affordable housing providers have properties where only seniors live. Others have specific units for seniors but also house non-seniors. Seniors’ housing may be rent-geared-to-income (RGI) or market rent, and some units may be modified for accessibility.

Apply for seniors' housing

Accessible (modified) housing

Some social and affordable housing providers have units that are modified to make them accessible for people using a wheelchair or with other special needs.

Apply for accessible (modified) housing

Supportive and alternative housing

If you need help to live independently in the community, you can apply for supportive or alternative housing.

Supportive housing

If you need help to live independently in the community, you can apply for supportive or alternative housing.

These social housing providers have agreements with support agencies to house people that use their services:

Consideration Co-op
Cormack Station
New Hope Dwellings
Northview Meadows Co-op
Durham Region Non-Profit Housing Corporation.

You may be eligible for rent-geared-to-income (RGI) or you may have to pay market rent depending on the agreement that the housing provider has with your agency.

If you are working with a support agency, ask them if they have agreements with these housing providers or if they can help you find supportive housing with a different landlord.

Alternative housing

Some social housing providers offer alternative housing for people who have experienced homelessness or who have had difficulty finding and maintaining tenancies. They offer support services to help people move back into the community after long periods of homelessness or unstable housing.

People who live in alternative housing pay rent-geared-to-income (RGI). Contact the alternative housing provider directly to apply.

Cornerstone Community Association Durham Inc.

454 Bloor St. E., Oshawa

905-433-3807

Houses single transient men and women.

Cornerstone also has some units at Cormack Station and Northview Meadow Co-op.

John Howard Society

298-300 Anderson St., Oshawa

905-579-8482

Houses youth aged 16 to 22 years.

YWCA of Oshawa

55 McGrigor St., Oshawa

905-728-5227

Houses women with a history of emotional or psychiatric problems, woman-led sole-support parent households, physically disabled women, and abused women.

YWCA also has some units at Cormack Station.

Portable housing benefit

A portable housing benefit (PHB) is a monthly benefit paid directly to eligible low-income households to bridge the gap between affordable rent (roughly 30 percent of income) and some or all of average market rent.

Durham Portable Housing Benefit (Durham PHB)

The Durham PHB is portable within Durham Region only.

To be eligible to receive a Durham PHB, you must:

be on the Durham Access to Social Housing (DASH) wait list or eligible to be on the wait list
reside in Durham Region
not be receiving rent-geared-to-income (RGI), the Durham Housing Benefit, another portable housing benefit, a housing allowance, rent supplement or other housing benefit.

Durham PHB Guidelines

Frequently asked questions about the Durham PHB

The average market rent in Durham used to calculate the Durham PHB is:

$1,153 – 1 bedroom
$1,242 – 2 bedrooms
$1,380 – 3 bedrooms
$1,518 – 4 or more bedrooms

Portable Housing Benefit-Special Priority Policy – (PHB-SPP)

The PHB- SPP is a provincial portable housing benefit that is available to victims of human trafficking and abuse. You can use it to live anywhere in Ontario.

To be eligible to receive the PHB- SPP, you must be a Special Priority (SPP) on the Durham Access to Social Housing (DASH) wait list. If you are granted the SPP-PHB, you will be removed from the DASH wait list.

Frequently asked questions about PHB-SPP

Short-term housing programs

From time to time, the Region of Durham is able to provide short-term rent subsidy to low income households on the RGI waiting list. This subsidy reduces the cost of rent for you. The rent subsidy may be payable directly to your landlord in the Durham Housing Benefit program or directly to you in the Housing Allowance program. You must be eligible, and in some cases we must have an agreement with your landlord to provide the subsidy. Tenants are selected from the RGI waiting list when there is funding available. At this time there is no space in these programs.

Other community housing providers

Some community housing providers in Durham Region are not funded by the Region of Durham. They keep their own wait lists and may offer market rent units, subsidized units or units that have been modified for accessibility.

Apply for other community housing

Find rental housing in the private market

Housing outreach workers can also help you find affordable market rent housing.

Find a housing outreach worker in your area

Some social and community housing providers have both rent-geared-to-income (RGI) and market rent units. Their market rents are sometimes lower than rents with private landlords. You do not have to be eligible for RGI to apply for a market rent unit.

Contact the housing provider directly to apply for a market rent unit.

Contact social housing providers about market rent vacancies

These providers are funded by the Region of Durham.

Contact other community housing providers about market rent vacancies

These providers are not funded by the Region of Durham.

Help if you are homeless

Durham Regional Local Housing Corporation (DRLHC)

We operate the largest social housing provider in Durham. Find out more about Durham Regional Local Housing Corporation (DRLHC), including information for tenants.